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Monday, August 27, 2012

Excerpt & Giveaway: Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep

Followers of the blog know I'm a big fan of Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. I've shared my thoughts multiple times, including reviewed Spider's Revenge and recently By a Thread. Today we have the author on the blog sharing with us an excerpt from the recently released Widow's Web and also a giveaway for a signed copy of the same.

The excerpt is from chapter 3. And I must admit at first I thought it was odd that this excerpt was being shared on this blog considering where my reading tastes lie, but after reading the novel, I'm glad to be sharing this portion since this is the precursor to where the setup of the novel starts to picks up. For the record, really enjoyed Widow's Web, here's my review, and for the time being, hope you enjoy the excerpt below:

Excerpt from Chapter 3 of Jennifer Estep's Widow's Web:

So we focused on
our menus and ordered dessert—a classic New York cheesecake with strawberry
topping for Owen and a decadent black cherry and chocolate parfait for me. I
ate my parfait slowly, letting the light, airy layers of cherries and chocolate
melt on my tongue and savoring every sweet bite. All the while, though, I
wondered if I could possibly lure McAllister into one of the restaurant
bathrooms and cut his throat with the knife in my evening bag. A pleasant
daydream on my part, since McAllister would never go anywhere willingly with
me, but the lawyer’s days were numbered—even if he didn’t realize it yet.

All through
dessert, I kept one eye on McAllister, but he seemed determined to ignore me.
Judging by the way he kept checking his expensive watch, the slick lawyer was
waiting for someone—and whoever it was looked like he or she was late. Aw, I
just hated that for him.

I’d just put my
spoon down and pushed away my empty dessert dish when a series of hushed
whispers rippled through the restaurant, as though everyone was trying very
hard not to talk about someone and failing miserably. I looked out across the
room, wondering who or what the fuss was about.

And that’s when I
saw her.

There were plenty
of beautiful women in the restaurant, the belles of the underworld, the society
pages, and all the social circles in between, all of them decked out in the
finest evening gowns and jewels they or their husbands’ money could buy. But
this woman was in a class by herself. She was simply that stunning—the kind of
woman who looks almost too beautiful to be real.

She was tall and
willowy with sun-kissed skin and golden hair that rippled halfway down in her
back in soft, silky waves. A slinky, sequined, sky-blue gown clung to her
curves in all the right places, the slits in the top and the bottom showing off
the generous swell of her breasts and the long, lean lines of her legs. A
silverstone cuff bracelet flashed on her right wrist. Some sort of design was
etched into the metal, but I couldn’t tell what it was from here.

Every head in the
room turned to watch her, and a small, satisfied smile played across her rosy
lips. Whoever she was, she knew exactly how stunning she was and enjoyed the
attention.

The woman stopped
at McAllister’s table, which surprised me, since she definitely looked out of
his league. The lawyer jumped to his feet, and the woman coolly offered him her
hand, which he shook with all the enthusiasm of a shyster sidling up to his
next victim. The two of them exchanged what seemed to be a polite greeting,
although I couldn’t hear the exact words over the clatter of the dishes and the
continued whispers of the other diners.

Even though she
was talking to McAllister, the woman was well aware of the stir she’d created. In
fact, she encouraged it, slyly glancing at one diner, then the next to judge
how eagerly they were ogling her. She even went so far as to subtly pose this
way and turn that way to show off all her ample assets. A hip curve here, a
subtle show of leg there, a faint pout of her lips. It was quite a show, better
than a movie star preening for the cameras.

Finally, her eyes
met mine. When she saw that I was merely curious and not completely enraptured
by her, the woman’s gaze went past me. But that same small, satisfied smile
curved her lips again. Instead of taking the chair McAllister had pulled out
for her, she headed in my direction.

BIO INFO:

Jennifer
Estep is a New York Times bestselling
author. Jennifer writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket
Books. Widow’s Web, the seventh book, was released on Aug. 21. Visit www.jenniferestep.com for excerpts and
more information about her books.

****************

Bastard Giveaway: Widow's Web by Jennifer Estep

Thanks Jennifer for sharing this excerpt with us. As for the giveaway, it'll be for one signed copy of Widow's Web, and it'll be for US shipping addresses only.

Participants have to be 18 years of age or older to participate. Void where prohibited by law. Giveaway rules are subject to change.

The giveaway is open for US shipping addresses only; it will run from August 27, 2012 until 11:59pm ET on September 2, 2012.

How to participate:

To participate simply log-in into to the Rafflecopter and "Enter" through the easy entry.

One entry per person, or face disqualification.

Entries accepted until 11:59pm ET on September 2, 2012.

1 signed copy of Widow's Web for one lucky winner.

There'll be 1 winner total.

Will have to confirm email to be considered a winner within 48 hours.

Additional entries may be had by following the steps provided in the Rafflecopter instructions, and only by doing those steps.

If you were logged-in into your Facebook account, it automatically logs you in as that and that's the info it uses. You can log-out if you want to use another email information (but it also logs you out of Facebook itself).

I was a latecomer to this series, but I'm so glad I *finally* listened to everyone and picked up Spider's Bite last month. I finished it and wasted no time picking up Web of Lies. I'm trying to ration myself to only one Gin book per month for now. Not only because I can't afford EVERYTHING (& other books do call my name), but also because I want to make the series last.

Interesting excerpt, it just wet my appetite that much more to get my hands on this newest book, Widow's Web. I adore the Elemental Assassin series and I've been waiting not so patiently for this book to be released. I'm so glad it's finally here. :D